22 US troops killed in Afghanistan in four days

Twenty two American troops have been killed in Afghanistan in four days,
making it one of the bloodiest periods of the summer.

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A U.S. army medic runs to the scene of a road side bomb explosion in Kandahar provincePhoto: REUTERS

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US and Afghan troops inspect the site of a roadside bomb in KandaharPhoto: EPA

By Ben Farmer, Kabul

8:01PM BST 31 Aug 2010

A series of bomb attacks have badly hit US troops in eastern and southern Afghanistan in the past 48 hours, contributing to the toll.

Violence is predicted to rise towards the September 18 parliamentary elections and as American troops begin operations west of Kandahar after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Deaths among the Nato-led coalition have reached 485 this year and are predicted to surpass 2009’s total of 521.

In one of the worst recent attacks five American soldiers died in Kandahar on Monday. Witnesses said their Humvee armoured vehicle was destroyed by a bomb. Three more died in a bomb attack in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday.

The coalition blames the rise in troop deaths partly on the influx of reinforcements, which is allowing commanders to target previously untouched insurgent safe havens where rebels are mounting stiff resistance.

Deaths have risen consistently each year since 2003 as Hamid Karzai and his international backers have failed to contain a growing insurgency.

Afghan police and civilians have suffered far higher casualties. The interior ministry has said 229 civilians and 124 policemen were killed in the month to August 22.

Mr Karzai’s frustration at the death toll led him this week to say Nato strategy must change as “fighting (Taliban) in Afghan villages has been ineffective and is not achieving anything but killing civilians".

Gen David Petraeus, senior US and Nato commander in the country, warned fighting would get “harder before it gets easier”.

Homemade bombs using old shells or homemade explosives and hidden in roads, tracks, walls, streams and buildings have become the Taliban’s favoured weapon.

Their use has sparked an arms race with foreign troops evolving tactics, or relying on more heavily armed vehicles and mine detectors to try and avoid them.